Mercenary Outcast
by JuniorBanks
Summary: Banished from the demon world and Rias' peerage, Issei was alone with nothing to his name. The struggle to get by on his meager savings forced him to turn to less conventional and far more dangerous lines of work as a mercenary.
1. A New Beginning

The cold wind bit at his skin as he walked down the street. The winter was blisteringly cold this year. He slipped on a small patch of ice and landed on his back. Issei lay there, staring at the dull, grey sky as he tried to remember exactly how he ended up like this.

After his banishment, he was forced to flee north to the Niigata prefecture of Japan. The last of his money dried up just as he reached the capital of the region, the city of Niigata itself. The young devil has been left starving and poor, stripped of everything he has ever known except the clothes on his back.

Suddenly Issei heard footsteps approaching him.

A woman with deep violet hair leaned over him, "so much potential," she muttered as she stared at him. "You look like you could use a second chance. I'm willing to offer, under certain circumstances of course."

Issei's head was spinning from hunger and exhaustion.

Through his daze, he let out a tired "Okay."

The woman smiled, "Alright then," she affirmed cheerfully.

She put her index finger to the young man's forehead and he was asleep within seconds.

Issei woke up in a warm bed for the first time in weeks. He groaned and looked around as he gained his bearings. The first thing he noticed was that the room was not too different from his own at his parents' house, sans the lewd posters. It was simply furnished with a desk, closet, and bed. Soft light flooded through the only window and bathed the room in a warm yellow. He got up and noticed the clothes folded neatly on the desk. The young devil changed and soon found himself wearing a pair of jeans with a plain red shirt.

As he was fulling on the black windbreaker, the door opened and a middle age man walked in.

"Ah, good, you're awake," he said in a friendly manner.

The man was dressed in a button down shirt and jeans. He had short, spiked blond hair and matching stubble growing on his face.

"Nice to meet you, the name's Connor," the man said as he extended his hand.

"Issei," the devil said as he shook Connor's hand.

"I see what Sarutobi meant, you do seem to have potential." Connor said as he looked him over.

"What do you mean?" Issei asked.

"The woman that brought you here, she said you might be a valuable asset. I hate to say it but she just might be right."

"Well I never thought I would see the day that _you_ would admit I'm right," a woman's voice called out from the doorway.

The purple-haired woman from before was leaning against the frame.

"Good to see you awake Issei-kun," she said.

"How do you know my name?" Issei questioned.

"Well I looked through your wallet of course," she explained as if the answer should was obvious.

"What the hell! You can't just go through someone's stuff like that!" he yelled.

"Relax, it's not like there was anything to steal anyway. You seemed half dead when I found you, when was the last time you ate?" she asked.

"Not for a while" Issei admitted, "I don't really have the cash for it at the moment".

"That's an understatement." she murmured, "Just come downstairs once you finished getting dressed, we have breakfast waiting."

At the prospect of food, Issei's eyes lit up

"Really?" he asked hungrily, his mouth already watering.

"Follow me," the woman chuckled.

A minute later, Issei sat at a table in front of a feast of bacon, eggs, and waffles while Connor and the purple-haired woman sat in two of the remaining four chairs.

"So I suppose I should start by introducing myself," the woman said, "my name is Sarutobi Ayame, everyone here just calls me Sa-chan."

"Why did you bring me here?" Issei asked before shoving a syrup-caked piece of waffle in his mouth.

"I sensed a great deal of magical energy within you," Sarutobi explained, "we thought you would make a wonderful addition to our little business here."

Issei paused halfway through devouring a piece of bacon.

'So they know about the magical world, huh?' he thought to himself.

"And what business would that be?" he asked.

Sarutobi smiled, "We're fixers," she explained, "we take on a wide variety of jobs, some not as…upstanding as others. We are a relatively small organization but we are making a name for ourselves rather quickly. We get some high profile clientele and have the respect of our customers."

She leaned forward, "We have also been looking to expand; when I saw you on the street back there I knew you were a prime candidate."

p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Issei shook his head, "Sorry to tell you this but most of my magical circuits are shot, I can't even use a fraction of the magic I was once capable of."

Sarutobi smiled, "While that is a shame, I think you still can be of use. Although magic can be extraordinarily helpful, it is not a necessity in many of the jobs we receive."

Issei paused to think for a moment, "How much money could you make in this line of work?"

"You could walk away a rich man," Connor said.

"Do you honestly have very many options? We're offering you a good deal, it would be a shame to have to send you back out onto the street," Sarutobi added.

Issei sighed.

"…Okay. I'll need to hear more before I come to a decision but I'm willing to give it a shot," he relented.

"Wonderful!" Sarutobi cheered, "You won't regret this, I can assure you." She smiled at him,

"Welcome to the company Issei."


	2. The First Day

**A/N: Yes, I am shamelessly ripping characters from other anime, or at least their appearances, because I lack the creativity required to make my own. I'm borrowing Sarutobi Ayame(w/o glasses) from Gintama and Train Heartnet(before he left the Numbers) from Black Cat. If any of you can guess where I got Jonah's name, you earn a digital cookie**

* * *

"Good to have you on the team," Connor said, "believe me when I say you made a good decision."

Sarutobi nodded, "Once you finish eating we can discuss the finer points of what a job in our organization entails."

After Issei had finished his breakfast, they moved into a small living room with two couches with a glass table between them and a flat screen TV. The young devil sat on one couch while his new coworkers sat across from him.

"Right then," Sarutobi began, "due to the fact that we don't have some boring introductory video lying around, I'll go over everything for you. Our organization is called Kronos. At the moment we are comprised of six members, including you."

"Isn't that a bit small?" Issei asked.

"Not at all, the way we function makes a smaller group better than a large company; it's like this with most fixer groups," Sarutobi explained, "when one of us takes a job, the reward is shared equally with the rest of us. This ensures that everyone gets a paycheck and that no one can monopolize the larger jobs for their own gain."

"Make no mistake though," Connor added, "everyone has to pull their weight here. If you aren't making any money, we cut you off the payroll."

Sarutobi smiled, "We find it best when there is no fighting over how to split the earnings of each job. This system we have has worked so far and we expect you to follow it."

"This company also has its fair share of rules," she continued, "all jobs you take on as a fixer must be reported to the company and the earnings shared. We don't take on freelancers and will not tolerate hoarding. If we find you doing either of these, we'll kick your ass out of here faster than Connor can drain the coffee pot."

Issei nodded, "sounds reasonable."

"Great!" Sarutobi clapped her hands together, "With any luck we can set you up with a job before the week ends so you can test the water. For now you can just lounge around here while we wait for the rest of the team to come back."

With that, Connor and Sarutobi got up and went to their respective rooms.

Issei headed back up to the room he had woken up in. In one of the two drawers attached to the desk he found his phone and its charger. He probably should have sold the thing long ago but he couldn't stand to part with all the precious photos it held of his past life. He opened up the phone and scrolled through the various pictures his friends from Rias' peerage. Eventually he came upon a photo of the Gremory beauty herself, smiling up at him through the screen. He couldn't help but remember his last time seeing her…

* * *

Issei stood before the council, his hands in chains, the blood he shed from the battle still wet on his clothes. As a being whose strength had grown to rival the biblical God's, he led the defense of the demon world capital against Khaos Brigade's last attack. While they had won, largely due to his efforts, the losses had been too heavy. The amount of civilian casualties was staggering. The innocent had been caught in the crossfire and decimated by their battle and now the survivors called for retribution. With all of Khaos Brigade dead or fleeing, they set their sights on Issei. It is impossible to say that he wasn't at least partly to blame. Had he kept them from entering the city as he was told to, the death toll would have been far smaller.

"Issei Hyoudou, middle-class devil, pawn of Rias Gremory," Serafall Leviathan announced in a voice devoid of emotion, "you have been charged with the murder of hundreds of pure blood and reincarnated devils".

The silence in the room was suffocating.

"A failure on your part to halt the advance of Khaos Brigade and the resulting conflict, with you as its main combatant, cost the lives of these innocent individuals."

He could feel their stares, most filled with hatred, but a very select few knew he didn't deserve punishment.

"Your past services to devil society have been taken into account and we have settled on your sentence."

Issei could hear Serafall take a shaky breath, her stoic façade threatening to break and allow her tears to fall as she condemned one of the few people that have earned her true respect and she has come to call a friend.

"You will be banished from the devil world, your status among our hierarchy removed, and you position as a pawn in the service of Rias Gremory revoked." she stated, "As head of affairs on this council, I declare this verdict final."

Everything was a blur from then on. The shock of the entire situation turned Issei numb. Two uniformed devils had dragged him out of the courtroom through a large set of double doors. Hundreds of devils waited for him outside, screaming and cursing him. However, through all this, one moment was burned into his memory. Through the crowd he could see Rias, his beautiful master, crying and screaming his name as she stretched out her hand to reach for him. Sirzechs held her back with a look of defeat evident on his face. Issei was shoved into a metal cart designed for prisoners and the Gremory heiress' desperate face disappeared from sight.

* * *

A sudden tap on the shoulder jolted Issei out of the memory and back into his new room. One look out the window told him that hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set.

"Issei? The rest of the team is waiting downstairs," Sarutobi said.

"Alright, I'll be down in a second," he replied.

"You okay?" Sarutobi asked with worry in her voice.

"I'm fine Sa-chan, just a bit of reminiscing."

Sarutobi nodded understandingly, "You'll find that the past isn't something this group is very keen on remembering. We all have our stories. If you ever feel like talking about yours, my door is always open."

Issei smiled at her, "Thanks, that means a lot."

With that they both headed downstairs to meet the rest of Kronos.

* * *

Issei didn't know exactly what to expect of fixers beyond Sarutobi and Connor, but the first thought that struck him was how _normal_ they looked. There wasn't anything too remarkable about them. You could pass by one of them on the street and not spare them a second glance, a far cry from the unique characters in Rias' peerage. The remaining members of Kronos were made up of one woman and two men.

The woman had jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes; she looked like she was in her early twenties, She was slightly shorter than Issei and wore tight black jeans with a white tank top and a brown leather jacket. She examined Issei with an analytical gaze that made him feel like he was being picked apart, judged for his worth, and put back together again all at once. It made the young devil feel uneasy.

She extended her hand towards him and he shook it.

"My name is Haru Kumiko," she said.

The entire time, her expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

The next person to address Issei was the man next to her. He had brown hair and his eyes were a dull amber. He looked to be around the same age as Issei, somewhere in his early twenties as well, much like Sarutobi and Haru. He maintained an apathetic look as he nodded his head toward Issei and introduced himself

"I'm Train Heartnet."

The final member was by far the oldest; he seemed to be in his later forties with the edges of his soft black hair turning a lighter shade of grey. He was taller than the other members of Kronos and had a muscular build that reminded Issei of a soldier.

"Jonah Hekmatyar," he said warmly.

"These are the people you're going to be working with from now on Issei," Connor said, "I managed to set up a fairly simple job for you in a couple days. Train will be working with you on this one so he can fill you in on the details."

Train gave a nod.

"Alright then," Sarutobi began, "it had been a long day for everyone, especially you guys," she said, pointing to the three members of Kronos that had just returned, "I say we all head to bed and talk more over breakfast."

The members nodded their approval and headed to their own rooms for a night of rest.

Sarutobi turned to Issei smiling, "So what do you think? They may not come off as the most hospitable of people but they do good work. I'm sure they'll grow on you eventually."

Issei nodded, "I look forward to it," he said.

Afterwards, he headed back to his room and fell down onto his bed. So many things had happened in one day. One moment he had been homeless and poor, but now he had a job and a warm bed to sleep in.

The life of an outcast sure is strange.

**AN:**

**A word of warning, I haven't finished the light novels yet so you can expect portions of the story concerning Issei's past to diverge from canon a bit. Once again, I can't thank you guys enough for taking the time to read my story. I hope you stick with me as we explore the huge world I plan to create.**

**~Junior**


	3. The First Job

**A/N: I have a new found respect for FF writers. You don't really know how long 5k words is until you're on page 8 of a word document. I was so happy when I finished, I screamed "Fuck Yeah!" in a very public place (never going to that Starbucks again). Thanks for all the PMs and reviews guys.**

**joe: here's the answer to your question.**

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Issei woke up with a full night's rest. As his eyes slowly slid open, he put a hand in front of his face to stop the light pouring in from the window from blinding him. A thin layer of frost covered the world outside in white. Issei sung his legs off his bed and put his shirt and pants on. He walked downstairs and saw Train sitting at the table eating from a bowl of cereal and milk.

"Morning" Issei called out.

"Morning" Train replied.

The fixer put down his spoon and looked up at Issei.

"Now may be a good time to talk about the job we have tomorrow" he said.

"Alright, let's hear it" Issei said as he sat down across from his coworker.

"Sarutobi set us up with something pretty simple. We got rich dad, a big wig in some lumber company, and his daughter. So the daughter went and ran away with some older guy. The guy goes by the name 'T-Dog' on the street" Train said, "apparently, the guy carries around a piece, nearly put a bullet in dear old daddy when he tried to convince his daughter to come home. Apparently daughter dearest wants to stay with this prick, it's our job to bring her back".

"You guys take on these kinds of jobs?" Issei asked.

"We're fixers, we take on any job that pays and is within our range of capability" Train explained.

"How much is this one going to pay?" the devil asked.

"The client is offering seven thousand in American dollars, pocket change once we split it among the group but a good place for you to start" Train replied.

As he finished explaining, Haru came down from the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly a thought came to Issei.

"Hey Train, Sarutobi said that magic isn't something we _need_ to do these jobs, but do you use any?" Issei inquired.

Train spared him a thoughtful glance.

"I prefer to not use magic on most occasions. I say that if you can't do a job without magic, you shouldn't be doing it at all. It is pretty helpful when you're in a pinch though".

"What kind of magic do you use?" Issei asked.

"I can't use many types of magic, but I can alter the speed my body moves at. It lets me move, aim, and shoot faster. Haru over there has a whole arsenal of magic, especially healing; she has a natural talent for it".

At this Haru stopped rummaging through the refrigerator in the kitchen and turned to them for a moment with a piece of bread hanging from here mouth. She gave a quick nod towards Issei before continuing to pillage the company's food supply.

"Anyway" Train continued, "this job should be quick and easy, I doubt we'll even need any magic while we're out there".

After they talking a bit more about how Kronos functions, Connor came down for breakfast.

"Issei! I meant to ask you, did you want to check out the city? I doubt you got to see it very well without any money".

Issei laughed half-heartedly, "yeah sure".

"Great" the blond said, "let me just grab something to eat and we can hop in the car and go".

Five minutes later, Issei and Connor had both gotten into a plain black sedan and set off for the city.

"Niigata is the largest city in this prefecture. The prefecture itself has around two and a half million people in it, almost as many as Kyoto" Connor explained, "the city itself is huge, you should just see the skyline at night".

Issei stared out at the towering buildings around the city leading all the way to the ocean on the western side of Japan.

"This city is the base of our operations, it's where we keep the headquarters. However, it is pretty common to get jobs that require us to go to other districts in Japan or even out of the country" Connor pointed out, "hell, just last week I was in Pakistan. Barely made it out of that place alive; took a bullet to the thigh for my efforts".

They puled up to a fancy hotel close to the center of the city.

"This is where your for tomorrow is staying" he said, "I'm pretty sure he wants you to deliver his daughter somewhere around this location, I doubt he wants you to drag her inside the hotel though. High profile clients like this prefer not to make a scene. That's usually why they hire us, we're discreet and stay out of the public eye".

After a few more hours of sightseeing, the two fixers stopped at a WcDonalds to get lunch.

"So what do you think of the city Issei?" Connor asked.

"It's amazing, the town I used to live in was nothing like this" he replied.

"Really? I'm used to this kind of thing, I grew up in New York. Came over here about five years back and took odd jobs around the city. Around three years ago I found my place in Kronos" Connor said.

"I thought your name sounded American" Issei remarked.

Connor looked at his watch, "we've been out longer than I thought, you want to head back?".

"Alright" Issei replied.

They left the WcDonalds and traveled home.

"Hey! Good to see you guys back" Sarutobi greeted them from the kitchen as they walked through the door.

"Haru and Jonah just left on a job" she said.

"What job?" Connor asked.

"The one up in the Aomori prefecture" she replied.

"Are you sure it was okay to send just the two of them?" he asked.

"Of course! They'll be fine" Sarutobi said as cheerful as always, "how do you feel about _your_ job Issei?".

Issei smiled, "I'm excited to start" he said.

"Wonderful, with Train as your partner it should go by without a hitch" she said.

Later that night, Issei lie awake on his bed and wet through the pictures of his old life again. He truly had a wonderful time back then. He was surrounded by beautiful girls, had the power to match the biblical God in a fight, and a place he belonged. All of that was gone now.

After his evil pieces were taken from him, Issei lost a huge portion of his power. The pieces were forcefully ripped from his body, so many of his magical circuits were destroyed. As a result, he could hardly summon any magic at all; even the most basic techniques were difficult.

By far the worst part in all of this was his inability to contact Ddraig. Before he was turned into a devil, it was impossible for Issei to talk to the dragon emperor; with his meager supply now, he may never speak to him again. On the bright side, he _did_ get to keep his devil-hood. Initially he had thought that removing a reincarnated devil's pieces was a death sentence, or at the very least they would revert to being a normal human. He managed to retain his status as a devil, including the enhanced strength and speed. As the warm embrace of sleep took him, he couldn't help but wonder if he might be able to build himself up again with Kronos.

* * *

Issei was woken up by a hit to the ribs. He got tangled up in his blanket and wrestled with it on the floor as he regained his motor functions after a long night's sleep. Once he finally dislodged himself, he look up and saw Train standing on his bed smirking at him, his leg still in the air after kicking Issei off.

"Morning" he said.

"What the hell!? Who does that to their partner!?".

"Well it's time to get up, we have a job to do" Train said casually.

Issei sat up, "oh, right" he remarked, "when do we go?".

"fifteen minutes" Train replied, "be ready by then or I'll be delivering you wake-up calls for the next month".

Issei shuddered at the thought, "alright, I'll be downstairs in a second" he replied.

After getting dressed, Issei walked down and into the living room where Train waited. He had a black coat on over his usual attire. It was open in the front, revealing his shirt underneath and reached down to just above his knees. He was tapping his foot impatiently as he leaned against the wall. He looked over to Issei.

"took you long enough" he said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol.

"Here" he said, offering Issei the gun "a fixer should never work without a weapon, you never know when a job will go south".

Issei took the gun and noticed the words 'Glock 17' on the end of the square slide. He felt uneasy as he took the weapon.

"I've never shot one of these before" he said.

Train smirked at him once again, "well then maybe we can get some practice in while we're on the job, eh?".

The idea of killing wasn't exactly new to Issei. He had killed members of Khaos Brigade during his battle at the devil capital and exterminated plenty of stray devils with his peerage. This was different though. More often than not he wouldn't know if the people he was aiming at were truly evil, at least not in this line of work. The young devil steeled his nerves and put the gun in the back of his waistband. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

"Connor is letting us use his car for this one, lets go" Train said as he walked out the door.

They both climbed in the same black sedan Issei and Connor had use to drive around the city yesterday.

"Remember, we want to remain inconspicuous" Train reminded him, "go in, get the girl, get out. With any luck we won't run into anyone along the way".

After driving for ten minutes, Issei and Train arrived at the poorer districts on the outskirts of Niigata. Issei could see graffiti on the walls and boards over the windows and doors of the small houses throughout the area. Eventually, they pulled up in front of a small house with bars placed over its windows and front door, not unlike most other houses in the area.

"We're here" Train said and proceeded to park the car across the street and get out.

Loud music could be heard coming from inside as they walked up to the residence. Train crept up and put his ear to the door. After a moment he looked around to make sure no one was watching and smashed the lock of the door with the butt of his pistol. He holstered the weapon and glanced back at Issei.

"Lets go" he said and walked into the house.

The inside of the house was a mess. The lights were dimmed, clothes were strewn about, and a torn up sofa could be seen in the corner. Issei looked around and couldn't help but notice the thin layer of smoke in the air. Train walked to another door in the back of the room. The door opened up to a bedroom where a girl around their age could be seen.

"T? Is that you?" she called out.

She seemed to be in a daze, probably due to the syringes and dirty plastic spoons that could be seen littering the floor. The girl looked as though she was normally beautiful, but right now her hair was unkept and her eyes glazed. Train walked over and prepared to lift her up. Just then, the front door swung open to reveal a heavily tattooed man.

He took one look at the fixers and his face twisted into an ugly glare, the veins could be seen bulging in his neck past all the ink. He dropped the small WcDonalds bag he had been holding and brandished a pistol. Suddenly, faster than the eye could see, Train drew his own weapon and fired.

The shot went straight through the man's right temple and out the back of his head. The sickening sound of blood splattering against the floor resounded throughout the room.

For a single instant, all sound seemed to disappear. Even the music seemed to fade into the background. Then it began again, with all of its fury. The girl let loose an ear piercing scream. The music continued to pound in Issei's skull and gave him a headache. The world seemed to spin. Train leapt into action at that moment; the fixer grabbed both Issei and the girl and dragged them outside. He threw the girl in the trunk and Issei and in the passenger's seat and drove.

'That was a human' Issei thought to himself, 'not a stray devil or one of Khaos Brigades magic users but a human that had no knowledge of angels, devils, or anything from our world'.

Once the car stopped Issei opened the door, fell on his knees and threw up. The bile stung his throat and his eyes burned. After Issei had spent a few minutes on his hands an knees outside the car, Train came around behind him.

"You done yet?" he asked cooly, "this is the job, get used to it".

The rest of the job went smoothly; they delivered the girl to the designated drop-off and reunited her with her father. Once the fixers were paid, they began the journey home. The entire time not a single word was spoken between Train and Issei.

After arriving back at the house, Train went to the kitchen for a drink while the young devil went straight to his room. An hour later, Issei's door creaked open, Sarutobi walked in and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Train gave me a full report" she said, "are you alright?".

Issei gave a short nod. "Yeah" he croaked, "I just wasn't prepared for that. I've had to kill before but never in cold blood like that".

Sarutobi moved her hand in a circle on the small of his back.

"It's okay" she whispered, "no one is ever ready for that. But you have to understand that this is part of the job. We try to avoid killing innocent people, but sometimes it can't be helped".

"I…I understand" Issei replied.

"Good. Get some rest, okay?".

Issei nodded and Sarutobi walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. After that, Issei drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning, butter toast and a grinning Connor greeted the young devil as he walked into the kitchen.

"You want one?" Connor asked as he held a plate up to Issei.

"Thanks" Issei said as he took the plate, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

After they had both sat down with their plates, Connor looked up at Issei,

"so Train tells us you've never fired a gun before" the blond fixer remarked.

"Yeah" Issei admitted, "guns aren't very common in Japan so I never had the opportunity".

"Don't worry, Sa-chan volunteered to take you out for shooting lessons today".

"That's right" Sarutobi said as she walked down the stairs, "we'll be leaving in a little bit so finish up there and get ready".

Issei quickly ate his toast and headed upstairs to put on clean clothes. He went over to his desk and picked up the gun he had deposited there the night before. He looked at it hesitantly before shoving it into the back of his pants and slipping on his windbreaker. He walked back down the stairs and out to a silver truck Sarutobi was waiting in.

"We're going down south toward the bottom of the prefecture" she said, "we can't have too many people around when you're firing off shots".

Issei got in the truck and they drove for two hours, he watched as small houses in the rural area of the region faded into the distance. Eventually hey began to drive through a more wooded area as trees began to envelop the landscape.

"This looks good enough" Sarutobi said as she pulled the truck to a stop.

Issei got out and observed the area. They were at the edge of a small forest, behind them stretched a long plain of grass with trees dotting the landscape. Other than the narrow road they had arrived on, there was no sign of civilization at far as the eye could see. A light fog had settled in the cold evening and the sun couldn't be seen past the dull gray hue the sky had adopted. Sarutobi retrieved a paper target from the bed of the truck and pinned it to a tree. Once she was sure it was secure, she walked back over to Issei and stood beside him.

"Alright, let's see where you're at. Try shooting that target over there".

Issei pulled his gun out and took aim at the target. He waited until he felt the shot was lined up just right and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out of the chamber with an ear-splitting crack. It clipped the edge of the paper target and flew into a tree further in the forest.

"Not terrible" Sarutobi remarked as she took the gun out of Issei's hands, "but it needs a lot of work".

She slipped the magazine out of the gun and pulled the slide back to eject the bullet out of the chamber.

"Now that you've had a chance to fire it, let's review" she said, "the gun you just shot is a Glock 17 with a threaded barrel. It fires a nine-millimeter bullet at three hundred and fifty meters per second. Not first choice but it gets the job done".

she let the slide fall back into place and put the gun back in Issei's hand.

"Aim the gun just like you were earlier" she demanded.

Issei got into the same stance he was in moments ago.

"Keep your elbows relaxed" Sarutobi instructed.

She put her hand over Issei's, "keep you left thumb under your right when you fire" she said while moving his fingers into place.

She leaned forward, pressing her chest into Issei's arm, "make sure you line up the sights correctly".

Issei's face grew red slightly at the close contact.

"Right" he replied and adjusted his stance.

"Good, that's perfect" she said with a smile.

She proceeded to show Issei how to load rounds into a magazine as well as how to insert and eject the magazine from the gun.

"When you're ready, try firing the gun again" Sarutobi said.

Issei nodded and brought the gun up toward the target once more. He mimicked what she had shown him and fired. The round hit home three rings out from the center of the target.

"Great job!" she praised.

They continued to discuss the mechanics behind the gun and firing practice rounds for hours.

Eventually, the sun began to set and they were running low on ammunition.

"I think that's good for the day. You're a fast learner Issei" Sarutobi said.

They collected the targets they had gone through and got back into the truck.

"We'll keep practicing, you're getting better but I'm not confident in pitting you against live and moving targets" she explained.

Issei nodded and they began the long journey home.

* * *

The following week, Issei and Sarutobi went out to practice shooting three separate times. Issei was steadily gaining progress and could manage to hit a still target from a good distance away easily. As they walked in through the door of the house after another session, Connor came up to Sarutobi with a worried look on his face.

"Have you heard anything from Haru and Jonah?" he asked, "they haven't reported back for a couple of days now".

A frown formed on Sarutobi's face,

"No, I haven't" she muttered.

She turned towards the young devil standing beside her,

"Issei, get Train from upstairs, I want you two ready to move within the hour" she ordered, "They wouldn't miss a report without a good reason, I want you guys prepared to support just in case".

She turned to Connor, "get me their last known location" she said.

Connor nodded and hurried over to the laptop he had left open on the kitchen table. After Issei arrived at the kitchen with Train in tow, Sarutobi tossed them the keys to the sedan.

"Start driving up to the Aomori prefecture, Haru and Jonah are in trouble".

Within minutes, the two male fixers were on the road. As Issei began driving, Train called Sarutobi from the passenger's seat. While the number was dialing he hooked up his phone to the port in the car. When she picked up, Sarutobi immediately began briefing them.

"Haru and Jonah took a job eliminating an elite of the local yakuza in the Aomori prefecture" she began, "the man's name is Kiyoshi Takayama. The price on his head is five hundred and forty grand in American dollars".

Issei took a left turn onto the highway, traveling north toward Yamagata and past that, Aomori.

"There have been recent reports of gang shootouts that coincide with the time and location of our last communication with Haru and Jonah" she continued, "if they aren't dead, then they are most likely holed up somewhere and hiding. Either way, you're bringing them home".

"Got it" Train confirmed.

"Good luck out there boys".

With that the call ended and they drove in silence. Four hours later they crossed into Aomori.

"Alright, Sa-chan sent me the address of their last known location" Train said, "looks like they were somewhere in the suburbs, just outside of the city. A lot of apartment buildings in this area so finding them might prove to be a real bitch".

As they approached the address, the streets seemed to grow devoid of life and eerily quiet.

"Here" Train said as they pulled up in front of a large apartment complex.

They got out of the car and slowly made their way to the building. Issei heard a distant crack and suddenly he was thrown off his feet as though someone had just hit him with a sledgehammer.

"Shit!" Train yelled.

He slung Issei's left arm around his shoulders and used his magic to speed them off toward the building. As Train put him down, Issei could feel a searing pain spreading from his right shoulder and down his arm. Train sat the young devil against a wall and began putting pressure on the bullet wound in his shoulder.

"That sniper was waiting for us" Train said, "this confirms our suspicions, they must have found Haru and Jonah out".

He stopped putting pressure on the wound to take off Issei's windbreaker and shirt.

"Looks like the bullet went clean through. The hole isn't too big, they must have used a smaller caliber round. Any larger and you would probably be dead" Train assessed, "still, if we don't get you help fast you'll die of blood loss regardless".

He took a small first aid kit out of a pocket within his Jacket and began to wrap gauss under Issei's armpit and around his shoulder. He finished it off by wrapping it around the devil's chest twice before ripping it off the roll from the remaining gauss and tying it tight.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright" Issei said through gritted teeth.

"I highly doubt you're 'alright'" Train retorted as he put Issei's good arm around his shoulders once again to help the devil move.

As they were walking, Train pulled out a pistol from his coat.

"That sniper probably alerted the other men in the area, get ready for a fight".

Issei nodded weakly and pulled out his own pistol. They could hear voices from the doorway they had entered through and began to move faster. As they were walking down a long hallway, a voice screamed out from the end they had just come from.

"over here, I found them!".

Issei lifted his gun and fired off three shots blindly toward the voice. The act of lifting his injured arm so quickly and the recoil of the weapon sent a fresh wave of intense pain up through his shoulder. Bullets peppered the wall next to them just as they rounded the corner. Issei's vision was turning blurry and the sounds around him grew distant. Suddenly, one of the doors lining the hallway swung open.

"In here!" a gruff voice called out.

Train dragged Issei into the apartment and propped him against the wall once again as the door closed behind them. Issei lifted his head to see Jonah standing at the door, peering through the peephole. As Haru came over, she caught sight of Issei and adopted a horrified expression.

"Oh God" she whispered as she hurried to his side and put a hand on his wound.

Her hand began to glow a soft green and the steady flow of blood that had been pouring from his shoulder slowed to a stop. Once Issei's condition was stabilized, Train turned to Jonah.

"Why the hell are there snipers in the middle of an urban area?" he whispered urgently.

Jonah looked through the peephole once before looking back at Jonah. He didn't dare raise his voice above a whisper, not with so many Yakuza in the building.

"They found out we were here to start trouble. We were attacked shortly after our last report and lost most of our equipment. The bastards were probably watching us the moment we entered their territory" he said, "after we got away they cordoned off the entire neighborhood, no one goes in or out".

"No wonder they were so quick to shoot, that also explains why this entire area seems deserted" Train remarked, "why aren't the police doing anything?".

Jonah gave a dry laugh.

"they own the police in this part of the country" he said.

Train looked down at Haru, her hand still over Issei's wound.

"Can he move?" the fixer asked.

Haru looked back up at him with worry still clear on her face.

"He's lost a lot of blood, but it should be okay to carry him" she replied.

Train nodded, "Our car isn't to far from here. If we make a break for it, we might just make it out of here alive".

Haru took Train's previous position, slinging one of Issei's arm over her shoulder to help him walk. The other two fixers drew their guns and prepared to move. They threw open the door and began to move down the hallway Train and Issei had come from.

Three shots around a corner cleared the way as they began to pick up speed. Two more shots, they were out the main door. Yakuza members began to fire at them as they ran for the car. Train and Jonah were letting loose a constant barrage of bullets by the time they reached the vehicle.

Haru laid Issei down in the back seat before sitting next to him. She ducked down low as two bullets shattered the window behind her. Train slid over the hood and got in on the driver's side. Blood spewed out onto the roof of the car as Jonah let out a grunt before getting in the passenger's seat. They were speeding down the road within seconds.

"Haru, my arm" Jonah said as a look of pain washed over his face.

Haru put her hand over a hole in Jonah's left bicep. There was a soft green glow and when she pulled away there was no evidence of the wound.

"You should be fine" she said as she put Issei's head on her lap. She brushed his sweat-drenched hair out of his face and her eyes widened slightly.

"Interesting" she whispered as she examined Issei once again.

Hours later, Sarutobi opened the door to find her team standing outside. However, her smile quickly fell when she saw Jonah carrying a sleeping Issei.

"He should be fine" Haru said, noticing the worry on Sarutobi's face, "he just needs a bit of sleep".

The woman nodded, "Let's put him to bed and get you all debriefed then".

After two hours of reviewing the events in Aomori, most of the tired members of Kronos went off to bed. As Sarutobi was about to leave, Haru grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk" she said.

They both sat down at the kitchen table again.

"When I was healing Issei, I noticed something peculiar" Haru began, "the majority of his magical circuits have been destroyed".

Sarutobi looked down at the table.

"I know, he told me they were damaged when we first brought him here".

"It's not just that" Haru said, "while there are a number of ways to damage you magical circuits, I have never seen anything like this before".

Sarutobi gave the Haru a quizzical look, "what do you mean?".

"His magical circuits weren't simply damaged beyond repair, most were utterly destroyed" the healer explained, "it's as if someone had thrown a molotov cocktail _inside _his magic reserves. I can only imagine how painful the process must have been".

Sarutobi was shocked. She hadn't thought much of it when Issei told her that his circuits were shot. Someone with that much power was bound to overexert themselves one too many times and pop a fuse, but she hadn't been expecting something to this degree.

"What could have possibly done that?" She asked.

"I'm not sure" Haru replied, "but I think some of them may be salvageable. With any luck he can get some of his magic back. Sadly, he'll never have as much magic at his disposal as he once did".

Sarutobi contemplated for a moment.

"We'll tell him once he recovers" she decided.

"Alright then" Haru agreed, "I better get some rest. If we go through with this, the procedure will require of magical energy".

"Alright then, goodnight Haru" Sarutobi said.

"Night Sa-chan" the girl replied.

With that Haru went to her room an Sarutobi was alone.

'Issei Hyoudou' she thought, 'what an interesting man'.

* * *

**A/N**

**So I plan on releasing a 5-10k chapter every week. Thanks again for all the support you guys are giving me through PMs and reviews. I have so many plans for this story, some of which I will have to ask you guys about in a couple polls when the time comes. Until next week.**

**~Junior**


	4. The First Spark

**A/N: So many good anime came out last week, including HS DxD PorN! I'll have a list on my profile of the new anime I'm watching for the spring. This chapter is a little shorter than I wanted it to be because I was watching them all weekend, sorry about that. **

**goku god: you sir have just stumbled on a route I had been thinking of taking, I'm impressed**

**DestinyVain: I know Issei is somewhat pathetic right now but never fear! He will get better, give it time.**

* * *

Issei could hear garbled voices before he even opened his eyes. As he regained his senses, he could clearly hear a woman's voice.

"-ery painful, maybe we _should_ have done it while he was asleep" the voice he could now identify as Haru said.

"I told you already, I want to discuss it with him before we do anything to his body; we at least need his permission first" he could hear Sarutobi say.

Issei cracked his eyes open to see Haru, Sarutobi, and Connor standing at the foot of his bed.

"It's not as though we're doing anything harmful, quite the opposite actually" Haru remarked.

"I think it's a mute point now" Connor said, "he's awake".

They all turned toward Issei and Sarutobi gave a smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A bit dizzy but other than that I'm good as new" he replied.

"You lost a lot of blood. You'll need to rest for a few days but you should be fine" Haru said.

"Really? That's impressive, thanks Haru" Issei remarked.

The girl in question blushed,

"no problem" she said.

"So Issei" Connor began, "It turns out Haru might be able to repair a few of your magical circuits".

Issei looked over at Haru with wide eyes,

"really?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied, "I got an in-depth look at them when I was healing your wound .It is possible that I can salvage a few, but I can't promise anything".

"Good thing you got shot, otherwise we may have never found out" Connor added cheerfully.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it 'good'" Issei grumbled.

"We were waiting until you woke up before we did anything" Sarutobi explained, ignoring his comment, "with your permission, we can start right away".

Issei nodded, "of course".

"Alright then" Haru said as she walked up to the side of Issei's bed.

The way she was looking at him made the young devil feel as though he were a specimen she was about to dissect.

"This will probably hurt…a lot" she said as she put her hand on Issei's forehead.

A green light emanated from between her fingers and instantly Issei felt pain shoot through his body. Issei squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth. It felt like light spears were stabbing every part of his body. The pain was unbearable. It continued on for another fifteen minutes.

"Finished" Haru finally gasped as she pulled her hand away and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I was only able to fix a select few, the rest have no chance of ever being used again" she reported, "it's going to take a day or two before your magic reserves start to fill again. Just remember you wont have even close to the amount of power you once had".

Sarutobi walked up to him with a plate of bacon and eggs she had brought from the kitchen while Haru worked.

"I'll bring you your food, make sure you get some rest" she ordered.

Issei nodded his thanks and the other members of Kronos left his room. After eating his breakfast Issei retrieved his phone and, with nothing better to do, began to browse through the pictures once again. He couldn't help but recall the events after his banishment.

* * *

As they carted Issei away in his little metal box, Issei could still hear the taunts and curses being thrown at him from the devils standing outside the courtroom. He was reviled by the very people he had tried to save, how ironic.

They took him to a gateway between the human world and the underworld. However, before he was cast back into the human world, the cart stopped and an older man entered the metal box with Issei. The man had thinning grey hair, large wire frame glasses, and a white lab coat. His hand glowed an ominous blue and without a word, he shoved his hand through Issei's chest. Without puncturing the skin, his hand passed through the skin and explored the younger devil's chest. Eventually he wrapped his fingers around a set of objects and Issei felt as though his soul was being crushed in the man's hand; he felt that if the man squeezed too hard, he would disappear and cease to exist.

The man gave an experimental tug before tearing the objects out. The pain was unimaginable; Issei's entire world was consumed by it and he saw nothing but red. He didn't know how long he had been screaming, but eventually his throat gave out and his vision slowly returned. When he looked up he saw the man walking out of the cart with eight pawn pieces grasped firmly in his hand.

Once the man had left, two of the burly devils that had initially thrown him into the cart dragged him out again. They pulled him through the passage and back into the human world. The sun blinded Issei as they crossed over. After a short walk, the guards unceremoniously threw the wounded devil onto a sidewalk outside of the train station Rias had used when she first took him to the demon world. The entire station was devoid of life, Issei couldn't see a single person. He sat on the hard concrete for an hour before he had the strength to move again. After this, he began to stumble home. His parents were out, probably at work. He went up to his room and gathered all the money he had saved throughout the years.

'I can't be so close to an entrance to the devil world. Most of the devils hate me, I wouldn't put it past them to try to kill me' Issei thought, 'what if they hurt mom and dad? Or one of my friends from school? It isn't safe here anymore'.

After he gathered his life savings, he stuffed as much as he could into a backpack: clothes, food, his phone and a charger.

'I can't force mom and dad to leave the life they've built here. They would have to start over in a different city, I don't think they can even _afford_ to do that'.

He walked out of the front door,

'I have to go alone' he concluded.

* * *

A knock on the door brought him back to reality. Sarutobi was standing there with his lunch in her hand.

"Reminiscing again?" she asked.

Issei gave a half-hearted smile, "yeah...".

Sarutobi walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, placing his lunch next to him.

"It's not good to dwell on the past" she said, "you should look toward the future more".

"I guess you're right" Issei sighed.

"Of course I am" she replied with a smile.

She noticed the phone lying next to Issei, its screen still displaying a picture with him and Rias' peerage.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"They're the other devils of the peerage I was in" Issei explained.

"Ah, so you're a stray then?" Sarutobi remarked.

"I guess you could say that" he replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a confused look.

Issei picked up the sandwich from the plate.

"I never ran away from my master, I was removed from her peerage" he said.

"What did you do to deserve that?" she questioned.

"I'd rather not talk about" Issei replied and silence enveloped the room. After a moment, Sarutobi got up.

"Just remember my offer still stands, if you ever want to talk I'm here" she said.

With that, she left the room and Issei was alone again. Issei finished his lunch and put the plate on the floor next to his bed. A few minutes later he drifted off to sleep and dreamed of his banishment once again. The only difference was this time, every devil that was cursing him as he walked out of the courtroom had Rias' face.

* * *

Issei woke up the next morning feeling much better than yesterday. He swung his legs off the bed and got up. The young devil pulled on a shirt and a pair of sweatpants before walking downstairs.

"You look better" Jonah called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I feel great" Issei replied.

"Good to hear" the man said as he held out a plate of bacon. Issei took a piece and sat at the table as he chewed on it.

"How about you? You got shot in the arm" asked. Jonah waved him off.

"Haru's magic works wonders. She fixed me up in just a few seconds" he said.

Jonah patted Issei on the shoulder as he took the remaining bacon to his room.

"Keep up the good work kid" he shouted from the stairs.

The young devil looked down at his hands, had he done good work? He wasn't any use on his first job with Train and he became a burden when he was shot on the rescue mission. He balled his hands into fists.

'I need to get stronger' he thought to himself.

With new resolution found, he went up to Sarutobi's room and knocked on the door. What greeted him on the other side was a surprise to say the least. The woman opened the door with while fixing her hair…wrapped in only a loose towel.

"Ah, Issei, how are you?" she questioned.

The young man was still frozen in shock.

"Issei?" she asked again.

"Oh, uh, I wanted to talk to you" the devil said, shaking off his surprise and looking down at his feet.

Sarutobi was confused for a moment, she looked down and then realization washed over her. The young woman gave a devious smile.

"Come on in" she said and stepped to the side.

Issei brushed past her through the door, her chest pressing against him as he went by. He blushed further before sitting down on the chair by her desk.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she began.

"I want to train more, not just in shooting either. I was nothing but a burden on the missions I went on with Train, I don't want to be a liability to the group" he confessed.

Sarutobi put her hands on Issei's shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"You are not a burden" she said sternly, "everyone has trouble at first. All you have to do is keep working and you will get better. No one here expects you to get everything right away, remember that".

Issei stared at her for a moment.

"Thank you" he whispered.

Sarutobi smiled, "now about your training, we can start hand-to-hand combat tomorrow. I don't want to push you so soon after recovery so relax today".

Issei nodded and got up to leave. Before he could get through the door, Sarutobi grabbed his arm.

"You have so much potential Issei, remember that" she said kindly.

After that, Issei went down to the living room and flipped on the television in an effort to kill time. After an hour of stand up comedy that wasn't really funny, Haru sat down on the sofa opposite of him. She examined him for a few minutes before finally speaking.

"Have you felt any activity with your magic circuits yet?" she asked.

"Nothing yet" Issei said.

"When you do, tell me. We need to put you through therapy to allow them to heal properly" she explained.

"What kind of therapy?" he asked.

"We just need to exercise your circuits a bit. It's the same concept as physical therapy in that we want you to gain strength before you do any heavy lifting with your magic" she replied, "I'll set up and run you through these exercises. Under my watch you'll be good as new in no time".

Issei smiled at her, "I don't doubt it, I've only seen healing as good as yours once before".

Haru blushed slightly, "it isn't _that_ amazing, doing it for too long leaves me exhausted".

"It still is an amazing power though, I only wish I could be as helpful as you are" Issei countered.

"You will be" she said, "it just takes a little time".

"Sa-chan said the same thing" Issei remarked.

The healer nodded, "of course she did, she wouldn't have brought you to us if it were any different".

The devil flipped the channel to a rerun of Senjou no Valkyria.

'I'll be sure to get stronger' he thought, 'then, maybe, this might be a new place to call home'.

* * *

The next day, Issei woke ready to improve himself. He quickly took a shower and changed. When he walked downstairs and found Sarutobi already waiting for him with two duffle bags.

"An old friend of mine is letting us use his dojo to practice in" she said as she tossed him one of the bags.

He looked inside and saw a plain gi with a matching white belt to hold it together.

"We're going to be training in Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. A bit of background: Taekwondo is focused on fighting with you hands and feet, while Brazilian Jiu Jistu is a more aggressive version of traditional Jiu Jitsu. I'm assuming you know what Jiu Jitsu is about right?" she asked.

She leaned forward next to his ear.

"Full. Body. Contact" she whispered.

Issei instantly turned red and Sarutobi let out a laugh at his expense. After they arrived at the small dojo they quickly changed into their gi and stretched to begin training.

"Alright then" Sarutobi began, "lets begin with the basics".

She spread her feet apart slightly and put her fists in front of her face.

"Always keep your guard up" she instructed, "you can't leave an opening".

She punched out at Issei.

"hey!" he said as he barely dodged.

"Hands up!" she shouted, "no openings!".

She another took a swipe at him.

"Higher! Do you _want_ your pace to look like a smashed tomato?" she quipped.

He raised his fists and she jabbed him in the ribs and the force behind the punch surprised him.

"Elbows in!" she ordered.

She continued to press him, pushing him closer to the wood wall of the dojo.

"Feet further apart! You need a firm base" she continued.

Issei tried to step away from the direction of the wall but the moment he crossed his feet to move she was on him.

"Never give up you balance!" she yelled as she shoved him and he tripped over himself, ending the fight.

"It seems you have a lot to learn" the young woman said as she crouched beside him.

They went at it like this for the next two hours. Issei noticed that Sarutobi had a very peculiar way of teaching. She would beat him and point out his mistakes until he figured out how to counter her. Then, she would switch up her fighting style slightly and they would repeat the process. Once they were done Issei was left an exhausted heap on the ground. He felt something cool touch his face and looked up to see Sarutobi holding an two bottles of water in her hands. He gratefully took one and began to all but inhale the life giving liquid.

"Good work today" she said, smiling down at him.

The young women offered Issei her hand and pulled him up.

"Let's head home, we can work more tomorrow" she said.

They packed their things and got in the car for the ride home, Issei slept most of the way. Sarutobi looked over to the softly breathing devil as she drove and grinned to herself, 'what an interesting man'.

* * *

Issei cracked his eyes open the next morning to the familiar sight of his room. A soft light poured in through the window and signaled the new day. He stretched before slowly sitting up in his bed. He was still slightly sore from his training with Sarutobi the day before. He reminded himself that he had to do that again today and got up to take a shower. After drying himself off and getting dressed, he headed down for breakfast.

"Are you kidding me? We pretty much _invented_ it. America would crush Japan" Issei could hear Connor declare.

"I wouldn't be too sure" Jonah retorted, "we refined it over here. Japan is far more skilled when it comes to this".

"Please! It took you guys more than a century to even understand the rules, even then an American had to teach you" Connor said.

Issei walked into the kitchen and both men looked over to him.

"Perfect! Issei can help us decide" the blonde said, "which is better at baseball: Japan or America?".

"I'm not sure how I should answer that" Issei said nervously as the two men looked at him expectantly.

"Easy, it's Japan" Jonah stated.

"The US, damn it!" Connor yelled.

"Calm down boys, I can't have you wearing Issei down so early in the morning" Sarutobi intervened from the living room.

She walked in and looked over to the devil, "let's head out, we can get an early start" she said.

Issei nodded gratefully and followed her out to the car.

"Thanks for that" he said.

"Any time" the young woman replied.

Once they got to the dojo they got dressed in their gi and prepared for another training session.

"So lets do a little background before we begin." Sarutobi began, "Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began when a Japanese instructor opened a school for the art in Brazil. His focus was on practical use and combat, disposing with many of the formalities with standard judo".

Issei nodded and she continued.

"As you probably know, this fighting style revolves around grappling and full contact. Strength isn't everything in this one, the focus is maneuvering around your opponent and causing extreme harm with as little exertion as possible".

She patted the ground and motioned for Issei to kneel down.

"There are generally two positions when you are grappling: the mount and the guard" she said as she got on her back and wrapped her legs around Issei's waist.

"From here, both of us are in each other's guard. Neither of us have an advantage over the other in this position but if we were to flip the other into the mount, whoever is on top has far more opportunities to subdue their opponent".

She unhooked her legs and kneeled in front of Issei.

"Let's get started. We're going to put our backs together and when I say go, you have to either pin your opponent from the mount or force them to tap out. Got it?".

Once Issei nodded, they put their backs together.

"Three, two, one, GO!" she announced.

They immediately got to their feet and faced each other.

"Remember, just like yesterday you want to leave no opening" Sarutobi said, "in general, whoever can get lowest wins in this kind of fight".

At that Issei adopted a lower stance.

Faster than his eye could follow, the young woman darted forward and put her right foot behind Issei's left heel. She grabbed onto the collar of his gi with her left hand and used her right to push him back, throwing him to the floor. Issei barely managed to wrap his legs around her to get the woman in his guard before she was on the ground in an attempt to press her advantage.

Right away, she stood up, keeping him firmly on the floor by pushing down on his center directly over the belt keeping his gi together. His legs were forced to unhook and she quickly latched onto the one resting on her left shoulder.

She leaned in, pressing his knee toward his chest and quickly slid on top and straddled him him putting her into the mount. Issei used his superior strength and flipped he onto her back, placing him into her guard. "Very good Issei!" Sarutobi praised. However, she quickly thrust her hips up, causing Issei to fall on his hands and knees on top of her. She latched onto his chest, hooked her foot behind his calf, and rolled to put her back into his mount.

As quickly as the fight began, it ended. The young woman twisted Issei's arm and forced him to tap out and concede defeat. They were both breathing heavily as Sarutobi sat straddling Issei's waist, her hair falling on either side of her face as she looked down at him.

She stilled as she realize how close she was to him. She could feel the heat radiating off his chest from the workout. Sarutobi couldn't help but think about what a marvel the devil was. Although he hadn't told her very much about his past, she knew he had suffered greatly. Yet he was still so kind and considerate. Here he was, training so that he might not be a burden to his comrades, not a single selfish thought running through his head. How glad she was that she had pulled him off the street. How glad she was to have found such an amazing man.

"Issei…" she whispered as she lowered her face closer to his.

Their lips were inched apart.

"Saru I-" he began.

He was cut off as she pressed her lips to his. After a moment, Issei returned the kiss in full. Soon she pulled away slightly and looked down at him again.

"I'm so glad I took you in" she said softly, "now that you're with us, I won't let anything take you away".

* * *

Issei once again woke up to the roof of his room, just as he had the previous days. Light through the window illuminated it and told him it was still early. However, this time as he went to sit up, he found something holding him down. Looking down he saw Sarutobi lying on top of him with her head on his chest. She snuggled closer to the devil in her sleep. He smiled as he admired her, but a moment later he almost let out a yelp. As he looked further down, he noticed that she was clad only in a bra and a pair of lacy panties, and he in his boxers. Sarutobi slowly shifted and opened her eyes.

"Morning" she yawned as she looked up at Issei and smiled.

Issei smiled back at her. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Sarutobi flashed him a panicked look before pulling the covers over her head and pressing herself against the devil. Haru opened the door and walked in.

"Good morning Issei" she said.

"Hey Haru, what do you need?" he asked nervously.

"I wanted to know if your magical circuits have started working once again" she said.

"I don't know, I don't think I can cast any magic at the moment though." Issei said.

The healer put her hand to her chin and examined the young devil.

"Try looking deep within yourself" she suggested, "They probably aren't producing enough to allow you to use magic, but hat doesn't mean they're not working. You should be able to tell if you concentrate on them".

Issei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Sure enough, he could feel the slight trickle of magical energy flowing through him.

"Yeah, I feel something" he said after a moment.

"Wonderful, once you regain enough magic to work with we can start you therapy" she replied.

"Great" Issei gasped as he felt Sarutobi start planting kisses on his chest and running a hand on his stomach.

Haru's face grew concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked, misinterpreting his reaction as pain.

She walked over and put her hand on his forehead.

"You shouldn't work yourself too hard" she said.

"I won't" he said as he felt Sarutobi's hand pass below the belt.

"Alright, come down to breakfast soon" she said with a slight smile.

She walked out of the room and down the stairs. A minute after she left, Issei threw back his covers.

"Not funny!" he whispered.

The young woman gave him a sly smile.

"I thought it was hilarious" she said.

Issei sat up and stretched.

"Do we have any training today?" he asked.

"I think we should take the day off" she replied as she ran her finger down his chest.

"Let's save that for after breakfast" he said as he swung his legs out of the bed.

"You're no fun" she pouted.

Issei pulled on a pair of pants and walked down to the kitchen.

"Fun night?" Jonah asked with a knowing smile.

Issei stumbled over himself trying to make an excuse and the man just laughed.

"Don't worry" he said, "I'm the only one that knows".

The devil sighed in relief.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"Believe it or not I was your age once too" Jonah remarked, "I wasn't one to say no to a kind lady either, at least until I got married that is".

"You're married?" Issei questioned.

"I was. My wife died years ago" he said sadly.

The older man picked up a plate stacked with pancakes and turned back toward Issei.

"Now isn't the time for sob stories though. I got ten of these things and I can't eat them all myself".

Issei smiled and grabbed his own plate. Eventually the other members of Kronos filed down into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"We should get another job soon" Train said between mouthfuls of pancake, " we can't have the company running out of money".

"I'll look into it later today" Connor replied.

Train stopped eating for a moment and his face grew serious.

"I still wonder, how could the Yakuza have found Haru and Jonah out on their last mission?" he said.

Haru nodded, "it is suspicious" she added.

"We can worry about that later" Sarutobi said cheerfully, "for now lets just focus on our next job".

They all nodded and continued to eat their breakfast.

For the remainder of the day, the members of Kronos relaxed around the house. Issei spent the day on the laptop in his room he bought with money from the company. He found himself repeatedly going back to the Kuoh Academy school website. He missed his old life and he knew he always would. However, he had found something new here. He was building a new life with Kronos. Now he had Sarutobi, Train, Haru, Jonah and Connor. Even though he missed his old friends, he had found new ones.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Issei lay awake in bed that night. A few hours after everyone else had gone to sleep, Sarutobi snuck into his room and crawled in bed with him. She kissed him and rested on his side as she drifted asleep. Slowly he let his consciousness slip away as well. He found himself flouting in an abyss. Darkness surrounded him. He heard a voice calling out but he couldn't make out what it was saying. It continued to float as the voice grew louder and louder. Suddenly, it became clear, it was someone he knew well. "**Glad to have you back…partner**". Issei shot up, breathing heavily with sweat pouring down his face and chest.

"Issei? Are you alright?" Sarutobi asked with worry in her voice.

The young boy looked down at his hand and said one word.

"Ddraig?".

* * *

Far off in another part of Japan, a woman was finished working behind her desk after another long day. Seemingly for no reason she stood up and dropped her pen, startling the young woman standing behind her.

She felt a signal far away, the last of the master-servant pact burning away as his magic was restored. But from the embers a single spark let out that last signal. It wasn't enough to give her an exact location but she was able to target the general location. Looking toward the direction the signal came from, she smiled excitedly.

"I'm coming, my Issei" Rias Gremory declared.

* * *

**A/N**

**Well that's my hand at a playful romance and slight drama. Be sure to tell me how I did. As excited as I know this made one of my reviewers, no I will****_ not_**** be adding a sex scene. I would feel to awkward writing smut. Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review or PM telling me how I did. Thanks for reading!**

**P.S.- all information and fighting was taken directly from my previous training in both Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (I may have fudged history a bit)**

**~Junior**


	5. The Middle East I

**A/N: So I was going through my email with the same shit-eating grin I always wear when I see a new favorite/review/follow (seriously guys, they make my day) when I noticed a familiar name pop up. I'd like to give a shout out to blueprintLV. If you haven't read any of his stories I strongly urge you to do so. I've been following ****_Broken Wings _since chapter 2**** and love every second of it. I may have also *cough* stole *cough* the idea to use the magical circuits out of Fate/stay from his story. Make sure to check him out and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Ddraig?" Issei called out.

"What? Issei are you alright?" Sarutobi asked urgently.

The young devil was sweating profusely. His hair was matted down and his chest glistened in the faint light of the moon. Issei looked down at his hand and called out again.

"Ddraig, are you there?".

'**About time you started talking to me again, do you know what it's like to be trapped in your mind with only your thoughts to keep me company?' **Ddraig berated him in his mind.

A smile broke out on the devil's face as he heard from his friend after such a long time.

"Good to see you too" he said.

"Issei, who are you talking to?" Sarutobi asked again.

Suddenly, Issei realized how stupid he must look talking to the air. He had been so excited, that he had spoken to Ddraig aloud rather than in his head.

"Sorry about that, I was just talking to a dragon in my mind" he said.

"So you're not all right" she deadpanned.

"I'm fine! It's the dragon in my sacred gear, Ddraig" he explained.

"Oh. You have a dragon inside you?" she asked curiously.

"One of the heavenly dragons, the Red Dragon Emperor" he confirmed.

Her eyes widened. "You're the Sekiryuutei!?" she gasped.

Issei nodded.

"I never told you that?" he wondered.

"No! That's kind of a big thing to forget to tell me!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry about that" Issei said.

Just then, the top of his hand glowed green.

"**I see you're already rebuilding your harem partner**" Ddraig remarked.

Sarutobi stumbled back and fell out of the bed.

"Is that him?" she asked, shocked.

"Yeah" Issei said aloud.

'You scared the shit out of her on purpose didn't you?' he asked in his head.

'**I told you I've been sitting in your head this whole time, I need to have some fun every once in a while'** the dragon replied.

Issei sighed and pulled Sarutobi back onto the bed.

"I haven't been able to speak to Ddraig because my magical circuits were destroyed" the young devil elaborated, "he must have been able to contact me once my reserves filled up again".

"I see" she said, "well at least we know Haru's magic worked".

"Yeah, we can tell her tomorrow though. I would hate to wake her up in the middle of the night" he replied.

Sarutobi looked over to the clock and realized in was one in the morning.

"Alright" she consented, "but we tell her first thing in the morning, we need to start working on them right away".

Issei kissed her and pulled her closer as they slowly drifted off to sleep once again.

* * *

Issei woke up a happy man. How could he not be happy? He had Sarutobi in his arms, Ddraig back, and soon he would be using magic again.

Naturally, this happiness was cut short as the world remembered exactly how much luck Issei was _supposed_ to have. As he was smiling down at Sarutobi, Train walked into the room holding a small hand grenade.

"Hey Issei, I got a-" he froze when he saw the sight in the young devil's room.

As Issei and Train stared at each other Sarutobi began to stir.

Still holding his hand grenade high in the air, Train slowly backed out of the room and shut the door.

"What was that?" Sarutobi asked.

"Nothing…I'll be right back" he replied.

Issei got up and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

Train stood leaning against the wall nearby. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So you and Sa-chan huh?" he asked.

"Yeah" Issei answered hesitantly, "we weren't planning on telling anyone yet".

"That's fine, I wont say a word" Train said.

Issei let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, I appreciate it" he replied.

"What are partners for, right?" Train said smiling.

"So long as Sa-chan is happy, I'm happy" Train explained, his face growing serious, "you know what happens if you do anything to make her _un_happy right?".

Issei nodded, "I think I have a clue".

The fury of Sarutobi alone was enough to keep Issei in line, anything else was just overkill. Train patted him on the shoulder and began to make his way down the stairs, tossing the hand grenade he had brought up in the air like a baseball before catching it again.

"I'll make breakfast today, you two get dressed" he called back.

Issei walked back into the room and saw Sarutobi stretching on his bed in all her naked glory. He grabbed a spare shirt and a pair of sweatpants to put on. The young woman smiled as she climbed out of bed and kissed him.

"Train saw us sleeping together" he said after a moment.

Sarutobi pulled away and began to pull on her clothes.

"It shouldn't be that big of a problem, he isn't one to gossip" she replied.

Issei nodded and kissed her once more before they made their way downstairs.

In the kitchen found Train making omelets over the stove.

"Good morning Train" Sarutobi said with a smile.

Train looked between Issei and Sarutobi before smirking.

"You seem a bit more chipper than usual, any particular reason?" he asked.

"Oh I think you know why" she said as she ran a hand down Issei's chest.

"I am a bit tired though, he just wouldn't let me get any sleep" she pouted.

Train's face turned an amusing shade of red before he turned back to his omelets.

Issei and Sarutobi sat down at the table and a moment later, Train put down a ham filled egg in front of each of them before sitting down to eat one himself. Once they finished eating, the young woman pulled out a small laptop.

"I have another job lined up for you Issei" she said, "how do you feel about Yemen?".

"Yemen? What's out there?" he asked.

"A lot actually" she began, "back in February, rebels took control of the capital Sana'a. As a result, the government national capital to the port city of Aden temporarily".

She pulled up a map of the country on her laptop and pointed out Aden, a huge city resting almost at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula where the Red and Arabian seas meet.

"What the government over there doesn't know is that the rebels are packing some heat, magical heat that is" she elaborated, "an American business tycoon hired us to take out a rebel high value target".

"You want me to walk into a rebel infested city?" Issei asked incredulously.

"Of course not! I'm sending you to Aden" she said, "the rebels have spies throughout the new capital. It's our job to take out the head of their operations within the city to ensure the rebels don't gain any more significant ground against the government".

Issei nodded his understanding.

"When do we leave?" Train asked.

"You aren't going" she replied.

"What do you mean I'm not going? You plan on sending him in alone? He doesn't have enough experience!".

"Which is why I'm sending him on this mission" she said, "we shouldn't pass up on such a perfect opportunity for him to get out of country experience. He won't be alone either, I'm sending him with Jonah".

"What about me then?" Train asked. "I'm sending you and Connor on a job in the Okayama prefecture down south" she answered.

After a moment of consideration, Train relented and went to find his new partner.

Sarutobi turned back to Issei and let out a sigh.

"I would have wanted to keep you here so you can exercise your magical circuits with Haru but this is a good opportunity for you" she said.

"I understand. You're doing what's best for me, I appreciate it" he replied softly.

Sarutobi smiled at his words before turning back to her computer.

"I managed to book you and Jonah a plane to China later today. From there you can hop your way to the Arabian Peninsula and cross the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen on foot" she stated.

"Got it, I'll go check with Haru before I start packing. She's going to love to know my magic is flowing again" Issei said.

The devil kissed her and went upstairs to report to the healer.

He opened the door to her room and found her working on a desktop computer with three other laptops scattered around the room and a tablet on her bed still open to the latest news reports out of the Middle East. She looked up at Issei as he walked in and quickly closed one of the laptops before he could see what was on it.

"Hey Haru" he said.

"Hey" she replied as her electric blue eyes ran over him and seemed to take in every detail.

"I thought you might want to know that my magic reserves are filling up again" the young devil continued.

"Really?" she said as she turned away from the computer and got up from her seat.

"Have you been able to use any magic yet? We should begin testing immediately" she said, suddenly growing excited, "I'm curious to see exactly how much magic you have recovered. Do you think you can make teleportation circles? I wonder how much that would cut down transportation costs. Wait here while a get a calculator!".

Issei rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as she began making calculations and taking down notes on a random piece of paper she pulled off her desk.

"About that, I have to leave for Yemen later today" he said.

She abruptly paused what she was doing and looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Sarutobi got a job request in Yemen and she thought it was a good opportunity for me to gain experience outside of Japan" he explained.

"I see" she said, putting down her pen dejectedly.

"You need to be careful when you're over there. Tensions are high in that part of the world right now" she remarked, "I can't have you die before I can run my tests, got it?".

"You got it" Issei said smiling.

"I promise we can start your tests right after I come back" he called back as he began walking out of the room.

Issei packed the essentials for the trip in a suitcase that was left in his closet. After stuffing a few changes of clothes and toiletries, he grabbed his gun from the desk. He didn't know how he was going to get it past security but he stuffed it in the waistband of his pants anyways, he could always ditch it if he needed to.

He walked downstairs an hour later with his suitcase in hand and waited for Jonah. The man soon walked down the stairs carrying a suitcase similar to Issei's and a smaller box made of hard plastic tucked under one shoulder.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

Issei nodded and they headed out to the sedan where Haru waited in the driver's seat. They loaded up their bags in the trunk and were off in minutes.

"You don't have anything to worry about when you're over there Issei" Sarutobi said as she drove down the highway toward the airport, "Jonah has a lot of experience in the middle east".

Jonah nodded in the back seat. "If we're lucky, this should be a quick operation. Our target is deep undercover in the city so that means few guards. We should be in and out before they even know we were there".

The drive continued normally until they reached the airport. As they were pulling up to the terminals, Sarutobi took a turn onto a smaller road leading off to the side of the airport.

"We hired a Cessna 421 to take you to China. It keeps things off the books and allows you to take your weapons with you" Sarutobi said.

As they rounded a corner, Issei saw a small plane with two propellers on its wings waiting just to the side of a runway. The young women pulled up the car near the plane and the members of Kronos loaded their baggage inside. Before they left, Sarutobi stopped Issei outside the plane.

"Stay safe. The most important thing is that you come back alive" she said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" he replied warmly.

She grabbed his face and kissed him before stepping back and allowing him to walk up the steps into the plane. The propellers started spinning and the plane slowly moved onto the runway. Once they were lined up and ready for takeoff, the small aircraft picked up speed. Issei watched out the window as the figure of Sarutobi grew smaller until she disappeared into the distance.

* * *

The flight to China took just under four hours. They were given no time to rest as they transferred their luggage onto another small plane that was waiting near the runway they landed on. From there they traveled up to Kazakhstan, where they boarded yet another plane before traveling to Turkey where they repeated the process a final time and flew south to Saudi Arabia.

Issei stepped out into the sweltering heat and was already sweating. The arid landscape was a vast contrast to Japan's frost covered cities. It looked as though the country had been consumed by sand and was only just now beginning to rise again.

Shortly after disembarking, Jonah left Issei with the bags to go rent a car. He sat under the burning sun until the older man pulled up in a black SUV and helped him load their luggage into the trunk. They soon began to make the long journey south, toward the border of Yemen.

"Why didn't we just fly into Yemen?" Issei asked.

"We don't want to be connected to the job we are about to do in any way" Jonah explained, "if we drive across the border, there is no record that we were ever in the country. Also, the country is in a state of civil war; getting a flight in would be a pain in the ass".

They drove for what felt like an eternity. Most of what they past seemed to be empty desert. By the end of the day they crossed into Yemen and drove south to Aden, taking care to stay away from the former capital Sana'a.

The city seemed to blend into the desert around it. All the building adopted a pale brown that made it seem as if they were pulled up from the sand.

"Our client told us that his sources located the target near the center of the city. Apparently, out guy is renting a room in the cheaper district of the city" Jonah said, "We have the address but reports say he isn't there often. We'll have to stake the place out until he gets there".

They drove into an area of the city that was cluttered with buildings. They were squashed together so closely, many roads were little more than alleyways. The SUV struggled to make it through until they reached an open plaza surrounded by buildings, an island in a sea of buildings. They crossed the plaza and parked behind one of the buildings facing the open area.

"This is where we'll be staying, almost directly across the plaza is the room our target is said to be renting" Jonah said.

They gathered their baggage and checked into their room on the fifth floor. When they unlocked door, a small room with one bed, a small couch, and a single window looking out onto the plaza greeted them. Jonah immediately pulled the curtains on the window together and set up a tripod with a large monocular on top of it. The curtains were pulled back just enough to allow the monocular to peer through at one of the buildings across the plaza.

The man set his suitcase to the side and placed the hard plastic box on the floor as he began to work the small four digit lock on its seam. Once he undid the lock, he opened the clips and pulled back the lid to reveal a disassembled rifle surrounded by memory foam.

"This beauty is a Ruger .22 model K10/22PPF" Jonah said as he assembled the weapon.

"It has a low velocity and a small round but at this range, with good aim, it shouldn't matter" he explained as he slid a scope onto the rail and threaded a suppressor on the end of the barrel.

"If anything, the low velocity will ensure nobody hears it" he continued.

"This gun has two huge advantages. It's light and extremely compact. With just two screws I can take the entire thing apart and fold it so it fits in an ordinary gym bag" the fixer concluded.

He propped the rifle on the wall next to the window and began to monitor the other building from the monocular.

"We're looking for a guy on the third floor, second window to the right. We don't have a clear description to work off of so we need to make this work. No mistakes" he said, "we'll work in shifts, I'll take the first one and you get some rest".

Issei nodded gratefully and collapsed on the bed. He had been flying and driving all day and wanted to do nothing more than sleep. It came easily, despite being in a strange land so far away from home.

* * *

Issei woke up and sat in bed as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

He looked over and saw Jonah staring out the window while munching on a bag of chips. The sun was rising over the mountains in the distance to bring a new day of unforgiving heat.

"Did you see anything?" the devil asked.

"Not a thing. We may be here a while" he replied.

Issei got out of bed and stretched.

"Do you want me to take a shift now?" he questioned.

"No, it's fine. I love this kind of stuff. Plus I'm too wired on coffee to get any real sleep" Jonah said.

Issei chuckled and went off to the bathroom to take a shower. Once he got out, he put on a clean pair of clothes and put his phone in his pocket.

"While we're here, I'm going to go out and see if I can get us some real food" he said.

"Alright, just make sure I can contact you if I need to" the older man replied.

Issei tucked his pistol into the back of his pants and walked out the door. Once he reached the first floor he walked to the front of the building and ventured outside. He navigated the cramped streets until he found himself in what appeared to be a marketplace.

The young man was assaulted by a variety of smells and sights. The aroma of a vastly different foods and items washed over him as he trudged through the crowds. Thousands of people of all different ages and dressed in every color imaginable were walking the cobble and dirt street. He could hear street vendors calling out to anyone who passed by in an attempt to persuade them that they needed what was being sold. He passed by one vendor selling an entire collection of spices one second and a man that all but threw the garments he was marketing in his face the next.

He had never been anywhere so chaotic before. It was so different from Japan. He couldn't imagine a city so hectic in his homeland, and right in the capital no less.

Eventually he found a stall that was selling fresh meat he could cook in their room. After paying, the vendor wrapped his portion in brown paper before handing it to him. He continued to push through the crowd and soon found a stand selling an assortment of fruits an vegetables. He bought a few different ingredients and began the journey home.

It took Issei over an hour to get back to his building. He constantly got lost in the winding streets and alleyways of the city. Once he got back to their room, Issei saw Jonah sitting in the same position the devil had left him in.

"I got food" he said as he walked over to the small kitchen area.

He reached into one of the two cabinets and pulled out a pot. He made something to eat out of the ingredients he had bought and brought a bowl over Jonah.

"Anything new?" he asked.

"Still nothing" Jonah replied, "these things take time, just be patient and we'll get him".

The next few days passed by like this. They would take shifts watching the building across from them. Every day Issei would wade through the crowds to buy food for them to eat because the room they rented lacked a refrigerator. Other than their daily reports to Sarutobi, Issei was mind-numbingly bored for most of the day.

His trip to Yemen had not been as exciting as he thought it would be. Everything remained stagnant until the end of the sixth day when Jonah leapt out of his chair in front of the window.

"Found him!" he called over to Issei who had just finished cleaning their bowls after dinner.

The young devil rushed over and looked out the window.

"The light to the room is on, it must have been the man that walked in the building a few minutes ago" he said, "when he leaves tomorrow, we can take him out and go home".

They stayed up all night waiting for the target to emerge once more.

Hours past and the sun began to rise. People were slowly filling the streets a the began the new day. Suddenly, Jonah picked up his rifle and took aim across the plaza.

* * *

Kareem Rashad was not having a good week.

Despite numerous attempts, his spies could not get close enough to Aden's military encampments to get accurate estimates on the threat the troops stationed there presented. To make matters worse, the Shiite Houthi were breathing down his neck. He had already pushed back the deadline for his reports twice.

He let out a sigh as he walked out the front door of his building. What a long week it has been. If only he knew how to get close enough without the military forcing them away.

He took one more step forward and them stopped. Something had hit him in the chest. It was as though he had been punched.

He looked around but the streets were still not full of people like they would be in a few hours, no one was close enough to have hit him.

Another thing struck him as strange, the street seemed to be slanted. Even the buildings were leaning to one side. All color seemed to slowly disappear from the world. He looked down and found a brilliant red among the black and white. An irregular shape had begun to form on the front of his shirt.

Suddenly, he was aware that all sound had faded. The usual noise of thousands of people moving, talking, and going about their daily business seemed to have disappeared.

Other pedestrians nearby had stopped and were staring at him. A woman off to his left was screaming, but it seemed as though no sound was leaving her mouth.

The world tilted sharply and he found himself on his back.

Kareem was terrified. He felt no pain but something told him he must have been hurt. A circle of red began to encompass him, growing by the second.

He managed to look down and notice a small hole in his shirt before he lost the strength to hold his eyes open and darkness took hold of him.

* * *

Jonah brought his rifle up and aimed out the window.

The sun glinted off the scope and for a moment, he was absolutely still.

The shot was so silent that if Issei had been standing a few more feet away, he wouldn't have heard it.

The bullet flew across the plaza and hit a man walking out of the building they had been watching. It lodged itself in his left breast, directly over his heart.

The man stood still for a moment and looked around, confused, before falling backwards and dying seconds later.

Within a minute, Jonah and Issei had loaded their suitcases into the SUV and were pulling out onto the road.

Little did they know, the man standing at the front door Kareem Rashad had exited from had seen the glare from the window across the plaza and was already ordering the dead spy commander's men to follow the black SUV he watched leaving from the back of the building.

* * *

Five minutes after exiting the city, Issei felt a familiar presence in his mind.

**'Partner'** Ddraig called out.

'Ddraig! Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in a week!' Issei asked in his mind.

**'Your magic supplies then made it difficult to communicate with you at all. I'm still surprised I managed it. But more importantly, someone has been following you since you left the city'** the dragon said.

Issei's eyes widened and he glanced back to see a two small cars on the road behind them, keeping their distance but never getting too far away from their SUV.

"Jonah-" Issei began.

"I know" the older man cut him off as he looked in the rearview mirror.

Issei pulled out his gun and let it rest on his lap.

"Get ready" Jonah said.

A few second later, he slammed his foot down on the gas and the car shot forward.

The cars that had been following them immediately began to pick up speed.

A man in a Kevlar vest leaned out the window of the car closest to them and brandished a rifle. Shots flew around the SUV and through the back windshield, shattering it.

"God damn I hate the Middle East!" Jonah yelled as a spider web of cracks appeared on the front windshield.

Issei turned around and began to return fire through the back window. His fourth shot hit the Arab man in the throat and threw the agent out the window of the car and onto the desert road below.

Issei kept firing until he heard a click. He brought his Glock 17 around and reloaded.

"What are we supposed to do?" Issei shouted over the wind blowing passed the shattered windows of the car.

"Once we get to the Saudi Arabian border they should stop following us" Jonah yelled back.

"Isn't that a couple hours away?" Issei asked.

"Not at this speed! We should get there in around half an hour" Jonah replied.

Issei turned back around and continued to fire at their pursuers. This continued for another ten minutes until they heard a strange sound off in the distance.

Suddenly, a large helicopter came into view and was gaining on them fast.

"Holy shit!" Issei cried, "are you seeing this!?".

The helicopter flew over to the right side of the SUV and the door on the side slid back. A man with a rifle began firing down at them and Jonah began to swerve wildly on the road.

"You have to get that guy off me Issei!" he screamed.

Issei leaned out the window and fired at the helicopter but the car was moving too much for him to get a clear shot.

"I can't hit it! You need to hold the car still!" he called to Jonah.

"You got five seconds on my mark! I don't want them to blow a hole through my head!" the man yelled back.

Jonah took one more glance at the road before getting a firm grip on the wheel.

"Ready…MARK!" he shouted as the car began to move in tandem with the road.

Issei lined up his shot and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the gunner's shoulder.

"I got him!" he said.

He turned around and returned his focus to the cars trailing them. Issei fired on them as another gunner shot at them through the windshield of one of the vehicles. A bullet clipped the headrest next to Jonah's face, causing him to curse loudly before swerving the car hard to the left to avoid more fire.

The young devil kept firing until he hit one of the drivers behind them. The car he had fired into slowed to a stop on the side of the rodeo and quickly disappeared over the horizon. The cars behind them soon backed off as they neared Yemen's border.

**'You can never seem to stay out of trouble partner'** Ddraig remarked.

"It's not as though I go looking for it" Issei grumbled.

"What was that?" Jonah asked.

Issei sighed, "Nothing" he replied.

* * *

Halfway across the world in Japan, Rias Gremory and her peerage gathered in the clubroom in the old school building of Kuoh Academy.

The devils sat in a tense silence as Rias got up form her desk.

"A little less than a week ago, I felt an energy signal from Issei somewhere in Japan. After a few days of research, we've narrowed down the area he might be in to a single neighborhood in the Niigata prefecture" she said.

Her peerage, excluding Akeno who stood behind her, leaned forward excitedly.

"So we know where he is? We can go get him?" Kiba asked excitedly.

"We know where he might be but there is no guarantee he is still there" Akeno answered.

"When can we go?" Asia questioned, eager to get her savior back.

"After school tomorrow we will take a teleportation circle to the area" Rias said, "don't get your hopes up, we don't know if we will find anything".

With that, the peerage made their way back to Issei's modified former house for the night.

School passed by agonizingly slow for the devils the next day. Once their final class let out they rushed to the clubroom and prepared to find their lost friend. They stepped on the glowing symbols and were transported to a suburban area outside of the giant city Niigata. Akeno and Rias led the peerage down the street.

"Issei's most likely location at the time of the signal is a two story boarding house on this block" Akeno said as she pointed to a building down the street.

As she was talking, a young woman walked out of the building and got into a black sedan.

The peerage watched as the woman pulled out of the driveway and drove off in the direction of the city.

"Stay here" Rias demanded, "Akeno, Kiba, follow me".

The three devils crept forward toward the house. Rias and Akeno took to the air and peaked through the second story windows while Kiba searched into the first floor. Most of the rooms were plain and nothing pointed toward Issei staying in the household.

They _did_ see a young woman surrounded by computers. Most of the devices were opened up to news sources but one laptop had a lewd porn site displayed on the monitor. The devils regrouped with the rest of their peerage a short while later to report their findings.

"We can't prove he has been living here but nothing is definite yet. We'll post a lookout for a couple of days to watch the building in the event he was out during the time we searched" Rias said, "Akeno will take the first watch. We will alternate every few hours".

They all nodded their approval before stepping into a new teleportation circle and leaving Akeno to her duties.

* * *

Sarutobi was excited as she hopped into the black sedan parked outside the company house. So excited, she did not notice the group of school kids standing across the street from their building, or the fact that their uniforms did not belong to any school in the area.

Earlier that day, Jonah had confirmed that their target was dead and they had crossed the border into Saudi Arabia. After hours of flying, they were finally arriving home. She made her way to the runway they had initially left from and found the two members of Kronos already waiting for her. They loaded the luggage in the trunk and began the drive home.

"How did it go?" Sarutobi asked eagerly.

The report Jonah had sent her only stated that they had completed the mission and were on their way home.

Issei and Jonah looked at each other before the young devil turned back to her.

"It was pretty uneventful to be honest" he said with a smirk.

The rest of the drive passed by normally and within the hour, Issei was lying in the familiar comfort of his bed with Sarutobi in his arms. He was slowly drifting to sleep when something jolted him awake completely.

"Well you sure work fast, don't you Issei-kun" a sultry voice called from his window.

His eyes widened as his head snapped toward the window. The young devil lost the ability to form coherent words as he stared at Akeno sitting on his windowsill.

**~Junior**


	6. The Male Bonding

**A/N: I am so extraordinarily sorry that this took so long to upload. After I uploaded the poll I had my finals to take. After I took those, I drove back home to help my parents with their move. For over two weeks, ****_two weeks_****, Verizon left us without internet. I couldn't check my PM's and respond to you guys (sorry) or anything else that requires wifi. it was hell. I'll have a lot more important information concerning the story in the authors note at the bottom**

**I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I love you. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Forget about me so soon Issei?" the girl asked as she slid off the windowsill.

"Akeno" Issei finally managed.

She smiled and walked to the foot of the bed with a sway in her hips.

Sarutobi recognized her from the picture of Issei's former peerage on his phone.

"You're a friend of Issei's?" she asked hesitantly.

Her body was tense and she looked ready for a fight. Akeno narrowed her eyes at the young woman.

"Of course. I see you're acquainted with him as well" she said, "I can't blame you, he _is_ very hard to resist".

"Why are you here?" Issei asked.

"I can't check up on my adorable little kohai?" the girl replied innocently.

"Considering I was banished, no" he answered, "it would be bad for Rias and the rest of the peerage if you were seen with me. Hanging around with a branded criminal tends to hurt your reputation".

"We don't care about reputation! We know you were innocent and we've come to take you back." She said indignantly.

"What do I have to go back to?" he asked, "the devils are the ones that betrayed me! I saved all of them and they cast me out! You know as well as I do that I won't be let back into the peerage".

The room was silent for a moment.

"I'm going to go tell Rias I found you" she finally said.

Without another word she slid back out through the window and into the night.

Issei's shoulders slumped as a weathered look came over his face.

"Are you okay?" Sarutobi asked softly as she began to rub small circles into his back.

"I'm fine" he replied tiredly.

"Now is probably a good time to tell you; I spoke to a few of my sources I found out who you were" she said, "what they did to you wasn't right, but I still think you should talk to your old friends. It doesn't seem like they agree with what happened to you either".

Issei sighed and nodded in resignation. He knew she was probably right. His old friends would never do anything to hurt him.

In a matter of minutes, a teleportation circle bearing the Gremory crest appeared on the floor with a flash of red. Akeno and Rias stepped out of the circle and the light faded. The Gremory heiress seemed to have aged since her pawn's banishment. Her once pristine face now sported dark patches under her eyes from sleepless nights and the light that had once illuminated her bright blue eyes was now dulled. Despite all this she was still the definition of beauty. When her gaze landed on her lost servant, she seemed to brighten instantly.

"Issei" she said softly.

At the sound of her voice, Issei's features softened as well. No matter how much he hated the devil world for what they had done to him, he couldn't hate her. He couldn't hate the girl that had wept for him.

"Hey Rias" he replied quietly.

Rias rushed over to the bed and embraced him. Tears of joy streamed down her face.

"I've missed you" she muttered into his shoulder.

"I've missed you too" he said warmly.

After a moment, Rias leaned back and noticed the woman sitting beside her former pawn for the first time.

"Who's she?" the heiress questioned.

"This is Sarutobi" Issei replied awkwardly.

"Oh? Is there a reason she is in your bed?" her eyes narrowed.

"I think I should be asking you the same thing" Sarutobi said as she grabbed the young devil's arm and tried to pull him away from Rias.

"I've been sleeping with Issei from the moment I made him a devil; it's only natural that we share a bed with such a _close_ relationship" Rias said as she latched onto Issei's other arm.

Before he knew it, he was in the middle of a tug-of-war match while Akeno stood to the side laughing at his misfortune.

**'It seems some things never change partner' **Ddraig remarked.

* * *

Issei awoke to the familiar feeling of bodies pinning him to the bed. Sarutobi and Rias lay latched onto his arms on either side of him. He looked down to find Akeno sleeping on his chest. The first rays of the sun poured into the room once more and illuminated the girls in all their naked beauty.

After an intense game of 'stretch the Issei', the girls grew tired and decided to postpone the remainder of the fight until tomorrow. Without another word they tossed Issei back onto the bed and consented to share him for now. Soon after, Akeno slithered into bed with him as well, taking off her clothes in the process.

He felt comfortable with them around. It almost seemed like he had never been banished. Almost. He could see through the playful bantering though. Underneath lay the question that they were all thinking about.

"How is this going to work?" a voice asked next to him.

He looked over to see Rias' blue eyes watching him from their place on his arm.

"I don't know" he admitted.

He couldn't go back with Rias; the devil community wouldn't allow it. She also couldn't stay around him. Merely associating with a banished devil was grounds for social suicide, never mind sleeping with one. Not only for herself but for the Gremory family, Rias couldn't be seen around Issei. The young devil could never regain the peaceful days of waking up surrounded by his girls.

"Maybe I could come back every night, we could be together then" the girl suggested.

Issei merely shook his head sadly. "Your brother watches over you like a hawk; there is no way he would allow it".

"There has to be some way" she said desperately.

Issei slid his arm from under Sarutobi's grasp and held Akeno on his lap without waking her as he sat up.

"If there is, I don't see it" he replied.

"We will find a way" she stated.

The girl had a determined look on her face that told Issei she wouldn't take no for an answer. He cracked a small smile as he looked at her.

"I'm sure you will" he replied.

Akeno shifted in his arms and tried to pull him closer to avoid the cold world outside the blanket.

"Five more minutes" she mumbled.

Issei laid her down gently onto the bed and got up to put on a shirt.

"You should go before anyone realizes you've been gone" he remarked.

Rias nodded and searched through the lingerie-littered floor for her undergarments. Within minutes, she was fully dressed and ready to go.

"I'll let Akeno stay with you a little while longer, people won't question her absence nearly as much" Rias said.

Issei nodded and with a final smile in his direction, disappeared in a brief flash of red. Soon after, the girls in bed began to stir.

"I didn't know you were so popular with the ladies Issei" Sarutobi called from the bed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

The blanket fell away and exposed both her and Akeno to the world as bare as the day they were born. Issei shrugged and tossed her a shirt.

"It was always my dream to be harem king. I guess it's to be expected" he said.

Sarutobi stopped what she was doing and stared back at Issei.

"Harem king? You're joking right? All the power of the Red Dragon Emperor and you would use that to become a harem king" she deadpanned.

"What's so wrong with dreaming!" he cried back indignantly.

Sarutobi shook her head in disapproval, "So many things…"

Akeno sat up and stretched her arms into the air with a sigh of satisfaction.

"That's Issei for you, no shame" the queen stated.

As the girls sat laughing at him, Issei realized Ddraig was right. Some things really don't change.

* * *

After seeing Akeno off, Issei and Sarutobi went down to the kitchen for breakfast.

It was still early and the other members of Kronos were still asleep.

"You had a good master" Sarutobi said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

He was surprised she hadn't tried to press the subject sooner.

"I won't be going back to my peerage" he stated.

She must have been worried because she let out a quiet sigh of relief after he said that.

"I'm not going to force you to stay with us. You can back out any time you want to" she responded.

Sarutobi jumped as she the sound of Issei's fork hitting his plate suddenly reverberated throughout the room.

"I'm not going anywhere" he said as he looked into the woman's eyes, "You all have given me to much for me to abandon you now. You took me in when I was at my lowest, I could never repay that".

Sarutobi's eyes widened, "Issei… thank you" she finally said.

The devil smiled and picked up his fork to finish eating.

Hours later, the rest of Kronos descended to eat and prepare for the day.

"Issei!" Jonah called and smacked the young devil in the back, "you, Train, and I are heading out for today. Sarutobi wanted me to take over your shooting lessons for the week".

"Why are we taking Train with us? Not that I mind, but he knows how to shoot pretty well" he asked.

"Even the best still have to practice and train" the man replied.

Jonah looked over his shoulder before leaning in closer to Issei.

"We may also be going to be participating in some, ah, _recreational_ activities" he said in a low voice so as not to be overheard.

He gave a cheesy grin and thumbs up before going to pack the truck for their trip. Issei walked to his room and retrieved his pistol before joining Jonah in the truck. A minute later Train climbed into the back seat and they left toward the city.

"You ready to party Issei?" Train asked as he flipped through a roll of single dollar bills in his hand.

"Uh, is this okay?" he asked nervously.

He didn't even want to begin to imagine the fury Sarutobi would rain down upon them. She could be as sadistic as Akeno if she wanted to be.

"We'll be fine so long as the girls don't find out" Jonah replied.

"Let's hope they don't" Train grumbled, "last time, I ended up having to drink through a straw for a week".

The devil shuddered at the thought.

"Don't worry Issei, we've done this plenty of times" the older fixer reassured him.

Soon they pulled up in front of a well maintained building labeled 'The Pink Pearl' in matching neon lights. Issei could hear the music blaring even from his seat in the car. They got out and a man dressed in a black shirt and slacks nodded to them from his position next to the door. As they walked by Issei noticed a small earpiece stretching from the back of his shirt to the right side of his head, he was a bouncer.

The inside of the club was surprisingly extravagant. It seemed to be geared toward people with a lot of money to spend, not Issei. The bass from the music reverberated in his skull and the dimmed lights made it difficult to make out anyone's face in detail. Bright spotlights shown on small stages with dancers and mirrors covered the two walls adjacent to the front of the building, making it seem as though the room stretched on forever. Issei could make out a bar with pink neon lights around its base on the far wall.

"Let's get a drink!" Jonah yelled over the music.

The man led them to the bar and bought them three glasses. Train immediately threw back his drink and wandered off toward the stages, roll of ones in hand once again. Issei was far more hesitant. He had little experience with alcohol and nervously picked up his glass. Seeing his reluctance, Jonah clinked his glass to Issei's.

"Live a little kid" he said before flipping the glass upside down and pouring its contents into his mouth.

Issei brought the drink up to his mouth and mimicked his actions. Right away he felt the burning in his throat and stomach as the alcohol invaded his system. He winced at the disgusting taste and discomfort.

"There you go!" Jonah said with a smile.

He called for the waitress and ordered two more drinks for them. The empty glasses around them started to grow in number as they drank more and more. The taste soon began to dull in Issei's mouth and the alcohol brought a warm, addictive sensation to his stomach. Before he knew it, the young devil found himself in front of one of the stages.

A slight buzz filled him as the alcohol worked its magic on his brain. He watched as a dancer glided around her pole in a sensual performance that had him captivated. He was snapped out of his trance when a very drunk Jonah slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you just love this shit!" he yelled out slightly too loud.

In his haze, he could only nod and let out and said something resembling 'yes' that made Jonah laugh. Issei had found out that the draconian nature of his sacred gear made it harder for him to get truly drunk. However, alcohol still did a wonderful job of dulling his senses and muddling his thoughts. He felt like he was gliding through a fog as he explored the club and all its different attractions.

A buxom woman with dark silky hair quickly approached him. She was scantily clad and obviously worked in the club. The woman put a hand on Issei's bicep and leaned in close to talk to him.

"Do you want some special service sweetie?" she asked in a sensual voice.

Even somewhat drunk he had enough sense to refuse lest he suffer the wrath of a certain purple-haired fixer.

The night continued on in a blur. Eventually, Issei walked back to the bar once again for a drink. He lost count of how many times he had returned to the counter. He called over the bartender and a cute girl walked over to serve him.

"Back for another Issei?" she asked as she set down a glass and filled it with scotch.

The devil smiled, "thanks Christy".

From his many trips back to the bar, he had gotten to know the barmaid very well. She was a young girl, barely old enough to work in the club. She had on jean shorts cut extremely high and a tank top that just barely covered her breasts. Her blond pigtails swung slightly as she went to put the bottle back.

"You really know how to hold your whiskey, isn't this the tenth one you've had?" she asked.

Issei grinned at her from the rim of his glass.

"Yeah, I wish I could the same for my friends though" he remarked.

Almost as if on cue, Jonah started cheering for one of the dancers and tripped over himself throwing bills.

"Just be sure to pace yourself. You don't want to wake up lying in a ditch somewhere with a hangover" she said with a smirk.

"I'll be fine" Issei replied, waving her off as he left his now empty glass to join Train by one of the stages.

* * *

"Hey! Wake up".

Issei opened his eyes slightly but immediately closed them as a headache smashed into him. It felt like someone had been playing whack-a-mole with his cranium and a sledgehammer.

"You look like shit" the voice, whom he could now make out as Train, remarked.

Issei slowly cracked open his eyes once again and saw a streetlight above him showering the area in a golden yellow light. It was dark out but the sky was painted a dull brown from the lights of the city only a few miles away. Train sat crouching next to him, going through his now empty wallet.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Hell if I know. I lost my phone and I'm pretty sure one of the girls in there nicked my watch" Train replied as he stuffed his wallet back in his pocket.

The fixer stood up and offered Issei a hand.

"I need your help dragging Jonah's ass back to the car" he said.

As Issei looked around he realized they were on the roadside near the club. How they ended up there, he may never know. The devil clutched his head for a moment before grabbing one of Jonah's arms and dragging him into the back seat of the sedan with Train's assistance.

"You're okay to drive, right?" Issei asked.

Train scoffed, "Of course. How many times do you think I've had to do this with this guy and Connor?".

They both got in the car and Issei quickly fell asleep in the passenger's seat.

Some time later, Train shook him awake once again. They had finally arrived home. Issei looked at the dashboard and the small digital clock on it told him it was three in the morning.

After fumbling up the stairs with Jonah in hand, the fixers put him on the bed in his room. Issei silently opened the door to his room and crept stealthily to his bed. He stripped off his sweat-drenched clothes and slid in next to the sleeping Sarutobi. He soon fell asleep again to the pounding in his head and incessant ringing in his ears.

* * *

Although his head still hurt, Issei woke up feeling a lot better. A sharp contrast to how he woke up in front of the club. He sat up and stretched to work out the cramps in his muscles.

Immediately, he received a painful smack upside the head the sent him straight back into the bed. The young devil looked up to see a furious Sarutobi kneeling over him.

"Where the hell were you guys?" she asked angrily, "none of you answered your phones! What if something had happened?".

"Sorry, training ran a bit…late" he replied.

She nearly gagged when she caught a whiff of his breath.

"Training my ass! I could smell the alcohol on your breath from half-way across the country" she remarked.

Issei let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"This doesn't happen again" she said in a serious tone.

He could tell from the way she said it that it was not a request.

"I'm sorry, I should have called. It won't happen again" he relented.

She let out a sigh and a somewhat relieved look crossed her face before it immediately turned back into a scowl.

"Now where did you go that you were drinking so much alcohol?"

* * *

After managing to escape the precarious situation he had landed himself in that morning by fabricating a rather elaborate story featuring Jonah and a roadside circus, the week went by as most others do for Issei. He was able to lounge around the house and enjoy living off the payment for the last job he went on. Sarutobi said she'd line something up for him the following week, but for now he had time off.

Akeno came late in the evening with permission from Rias and spent the night in Issei's bed. The devil woke up the next morning holding both her and Sarutobi in his arms the next morning. He was finally regaining some sense of normalcy that he had lost when he was banished.

However, something kept nagging him, keeping him slightly on edge. He knew he was forgetting something but he couldn't remember exactly what. Putting it to the back of his mind, the young devil decided to leave the issue for later; if it's really that important, it would make itself know eventually. For now he wanted to relax and enjoy the calm.

He had learned to cherish these moments because, more often than not, a storm follows.

* * *

**A/N**

**This wasn't nearly as long or refined as I want it to be, but I felt like I needed to give you guys something. With my schedule now clear, I hope to give you guys longer chapters as soon as I can pump them out and revise them.**

**I love you guys and hope you liked the chapter. I'm not very pleased with how it turned out but I didn't want to leave you with nothing. **

**Until next time**

**~Junior**


	7. The Middle East II

"I'm really sorry for making you do this" Sarutobi's garbled voice said through the satellite phone.

"For the hundredth time, don't worry about it" Issei responded, yelling to be heard over the whipping winds.

He was currently trudging through a desert plain. The wind was especially strong today and the scarf he had bought in the last town he stopped in fluttered wildly with every gust. Every time the harsh breeze kissed the sand dunes, orange powder flew into the air and attempted to blind him. He pulled his foot from the ground and hastily stuffed the ends of his cargo pants back into the combat boots he was wearing.

Sarutobi made sure he was well prepared for this mission; it was his first one alone after all. Halfway through Issei's small vacation, a sharp influx of job requests made their way to Kronos. The pay was simply too good to refuse so they sent out almost all available fixers. Sarutobi was the only exception, as she had to coordinate with the other members in the field from their base of operations in Niigata. Issei was given a simpler mission because of his inexperience going solo.

She also checked up on him constantly to make sure things went smoothly. They had sent him back into the Middle East once again. This time he was in Iraq, if you could still call it that. It wasn't much of a stretch to say that the country might not be on the globe much longer. Civil war is tearing it apart and entire populations are being displaced.

That's why Issei is here of course.

The government of Iraq came to Kronos for support in sniffing out ISIS bases in the southwest, a testament to how desperate they are. Anyone could see that the country was a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before it destroyed itself.

Issei suddenly dropped onto his stomach on the edge of a particularly large sand dune. He put his hand up to his face and covered his eyes. **BOOST**. When he pulled his hand away, an emerald green glow emanated from his irises. A few hundred yards away lay an entrance leading into the ground surrounded by sand bags and men with head wraps and guns. With the advanced eyesight he could make out the individual follicles of hair on the men's arms and the smallest scratches on their guns from this distance. This was definitely the place he had been looking for.

After he had gotten back from Yemen, Haru had run several tests every day to gauge the revival of Issei's magical circuits. They found out that he could utilize his sacred gear as a modified Twice Critical but did not have the magical power needed to manifest it in physical form. He also had very little contact with Ddraig. Apparently, the dragon had difficulty talking to him at all due to the amount of magic he now possessed. Whether the young devil's magic reserves would continue to heal was still a mystery but one thing was certain, he could no longer rely on his sacred gear. It would never regain the former power and glory that it once possessed in Issei's body. His time as the Welsh Dragon was over.

"I found one" he spoke into the satellite phone.

"Good job. I'll send your coordinates to Iraq officials and they'll clean up there. Three more days of this and we can get you home" Sarutobi replied cheerfully.

Issei cracked a smile and closed the satellite phone before getting up and starting the long walk back to the village he had been staying in. The village was nothing more than a small outcropping near the edge of the desert consisting of sunbaked stone buildings. The only reason it managed to stay afloat was due to the salt traders moving their product from the Euphrates River to towns in the southern region. Almost the only business the people received was from accommodating these traders and acting as a rest stop. As a result, he was able to get a room with no questions asked.

It was the perfect place for a fixer that wanted to stay off the radar. Issei was finally walking into the town and toward his lodgings when he heard the sound of helicopter rotors. Helicopters were a common sight in Iraq, especially after the Gulf War. It sounded as though this one was going to pass straight over the town, probably for one last supply run before settling down for the night.

Issei walked through the door to his inn and gave a friendly nod to the innkeeper before continuing on to his room. It had been a long day and the desert had a way of drawing every last drop of strength out of a person in such a short amount of time. His shoulders ached as he slipped off his backpack and sat down on his bed.

"Three more days" he sighed to himself.

The helicopter outside had reached the town and seemed to be flying over just as Issei had predicted.

A silent hiss, like a branding iron thrust into water, was the only warning the young devil had before the room burst into flames. The force of the blast met him before the inferno did and he was knocked to the floor behind his bed. His shoulders and back stung and a ringing echoed in his ears as he slowly picked himself up off the floor. Every flammable object in the room had been set alight; even the walls seemed to have melted slightly from the heat of the blast. The only reason Issei had survived was because the bed took the brunt of the blast for him. He looked over and saw that his door had been ripped from its hinges and that the lobby of the inn was also consumed in flames. There was far too much fire for this to have been a normal explosion, it must have been magic.

The thunderous beating of the helicopter grew louder as it landed outside. Issei quickly wrapped his scarf around his nose and mouth and picked up his pistol and slightly charred backpack from the floor. He peeked outside his room to see the lobby had been completely destroyed. The front wall had almost completely melted and everything inside was either scorched black or still burning. In front of the building, the helicopter had landed and troops were filing out from the large back door. He recognized the sigils on their uniforms from Yemen. It was the Shiite Houthi rebels. It couldn't be a coincidence; they must be here for him.

Shots rang out as they executed the villagers. People ran as their homes were set alight by the mages in the group and those that weren't shot, burned to a crisp. With too many outside, Issei crept toward the back door of the inn. In the center of the blackened hallway, the charred body of whom he could only assume was the innkeeper guarded the rear entrance. It was clear the man had been attempting to escape by the way his body lay against the door. Issei suppressed the urge to throw up as he peeled him from the exit. He crept around the side of the building and was met with a grotesque sight. The burning buildings lit up the night and gave detail to the bodies of the villagers. Most were riddled with bullets with horrified looks on their faces while others were burnt beyond recognition. The soldiers spared no one. Issei could make out the bodies of women and children littering the ground.

As he turned to run away and contact Kronos, two soldiers rounded the corner. Issei didn't think twice. He put two in the rebel's closest to him and a third bullet ripped through the other's neck. The man fell in a sputtering mess of blood and Issei took off. He could already hear the soldiers in the town scrambling. He dropped his left hand down and a green light flashed briefly. **BOOST**. He tore through the sand with the speed of an olympic athlete, his power giving him a huge boost. Ten minutes later, he fell to the ground exhausted. The burns on his back stung and he was bleeding from multiple cuts along his body. The cold of the desert night was beginning to set in and without good clothes it was only going to get worse.

He was alone in a foreign country with killers on the hunt for his blood.

**AN:**

**So yeah, it's been a while. I know I'm going to get shit for it and I don't really have a good excuse. To be honest this chapter is short because that's what I had done when I decided to take a break. I had some serious relationship problems a while back and needed to sort myself out. Just a little while ago I reread Eighth, The Dragoon by Arrixam (HIGHLY recommend) and realized I really wanted to start writing again. I am still in college and I'm going to have to find a good balance, but expect more chapters in the future. Thanks for reading and all the wonderful pm's/reviews guys. Reading them always puts a smile on my face.**

**~Junior**


End file.
